The characters in Angel Beats! are superb. Like you said, their backstories were really well-done. However, more important than that was how those backstories influenced who the characters were at the present, and how it fueled their actions and motivations. The supporting characters were also quite an entertaining bunch.
The story suffered from pacing issues, but I'm not sure why you could get bored with all of the emotional involvement to be had. Unless feels really aren't important to you. They did great depicting the characters' struggles and character development.
And of course, there's the outstanding visuals and music, though those are of secondary importance.
While Haibane Renmei definitely had some interesting symbolism, it doesn't change the fact that the characters were quite lacking. The only one with any real depth was Reki. With how much focus Rakka had, she had an inexcusable lack of depth and development. Kuu and her had almost zero interactions, but when she disappeared, Rakka had an illogically intense reaction, making those happenings quite melodramatic. They also throw you all kinds of bones about various aspects of the story, but don't inevitably don't follow through on any of these ideas. It kind of seemed like it was trying to be both character-driven AND story-driven, but it totally failed if it was trying to be story-driven, as it didn't have a point or main conflict to resolve.
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The story suffered from pacing issues, but I'm not sure why you could get bored with all of the emotional involvement to be had. Unless feels really aren't important to you. They did great depicting the characters' struggles and character development.
And of course, there's the outstanding visuals and music, though those are of secondary importance.
While Haibane Renmei definitely had some interesting symbolism, it doesn't change the fact that the characters were quite lacking. The only one with any real depth was Reki. With how much focus Rakka had, she had an inexcusable lack of depth and development. Kuu and her had almost zero interactions, but when she disappeared, Rakka had an illogically intense reaction, making those happenings quite melodramatic. They also throw you all kinds of bones about various aspects of the story, but don't inevitably don't follow through on any of these ideas. It kind of seemed like it was trying to be both character-driven AND story-driven, but it totally failed if it was trying to be story-driven, as it didn't have a point or main conflict to resolve.